A dinner party held at Leslie Hawke’s Bucharest apartment, attended by some prominent Romanian-North American repats, elicited a discussion that was fascinating, lively and honest. Here’s the first of two parts

Dinner with Leslie

Romanian-North Americans – typically, Romanians who left the country and spent their formative years in the US and Canada, and who have since returned – have a unique perspective on the country. During the summer Leslie Hawke invited a group of prominent Romanian-North American women to dinner. The discussions, which were taped with the full knowledge of all present that the transcriptions would appear in Vivid, were illuminating. Present were Leslie Hawke, Elena Francisc, Cristina Merrill, Sandra Pralong, Dana Saftoiu, Marina Sturdza, Alexandra Tinjala, Tereza Valcan and Edit Vesser. Many thanks to Cristina Merrill, who transcribed the tapes, and Amarjit Sidhu, who took the photographs, and cooked.